Red- hot Hunt cools down Curie
Broncos rally, pick up statement win over Gage- less Condors
Nick Robinson has been on Kenwood’s varsity team since he was a freshman. He has been through a coaching change and has watched a slew of players transfer in from other schools the last two seasons.
“It’s hard. I’ve been on four different varsity teams,” Robinson said. “There are a lot of different players every year. We just have to get our camaraderie up and jell together.”
Five of the players who played for Kenwood on Tuesday at Curie are transfers. And it was a transfer, David Hunt from Young, who hit a three- pointer with nine seconds to play to give the No. 8 Broncos a 60- 57 win over the No. 2 Condors.
Robinson created the play by driving to the basket and then passing to Hunt in the corner.
“Usually when I penetrate, the whole team collapses on me,” Robinson said. “I knew he had hit four threes [ earlier in the game].”
Hunt led the Broncos ( 10- 1, 5- 0 Red- Central) with 19 points. Robinson added 11 points and seven rebounds, and junior Manny Patterson scored 11 points and grabbed 12 boards.
“This is probably the biggest game I’ve ever had,” Hunt said. “I was just feeling it. I had the hot hand, and I just took it.”
Hunt has been logging extra time in the gym lately.
“[ Kenwood coach Marlo Finner] gets up early with me so I can take extra shots in the morning,” Hunt said.
The Broncos needed every shot they could get. Curie led by 15 points early in the fourth quarter, but Kenwood closed the game with a 16- 2 run.
“I thought we had a chance to put it away and we started taking some bad shots down the stretch,” Curie coach Mike Oliver said. “We just started playing selfish, stars trying to score instead of playing for the team.”
Curie’s star player, DePaul recruit Devin Gage, did not play. He injured his ankle in the Pontiac Holiday Tournament championship game.
“We should have closed it out,” Oliver said. “Nobody feels sorry for us that Gage isn’t playing. We thought we had a good enough team to win without Gage.”
Oliver said the plan is to hold Gage out the rest of the week to make sure he’s fully healed.
“I never question anyone’s injury, but if it were me, I would have played,” Oliver said. “I don’t know his pain tolerance, but if I had the opportunity to play in this environment in this type of situation, I would have played.”
Elijah Joiner led the Condors ( 10- 2, 4- 1) with 21 points. He dominated the game for long stretches but was unable to settle the team down in the fourth quarter. That is typically Gage’s role.
Terry Smith Jr. had six points and 12 rebounds for Curie, and sophomore Landers Nolley II added 10 points and five rebounds.
It’s a statement win for Kenwood, even without Gage on the court. Curie is a difficult place to play, and the Condors were riding high after beating Simeon and Peoria Manual. The Broncos’ only loss is to Detroit Renaissance, but until Tuesday, they didn’t have a signature in- state win.
“This is a big win, even though they didn’t have Devin,” Robinson said. “It showed a lot that we could fight to comeback.”